Latex girdle with a lining of fibers



April 953 H. J. BARTH 2,636,173

- LATEX GIRDLE WITH A LINING OF FIBERS Filed May 12, 1951 I ADDINGREVERSE L q.z. F'ORMlNG V i g ERSE I I I v I IIII l l Patented Apr. 28,1953 LATEX GIRDLE WITH A LINING OF FIBERS Harry Jacob Barth, Dover,Del., assignor to International Latex Corporation, a corporation ofDelaware Application May 12, 1951, Serial N 0. 226,081 I 2 Claims.

IMy invention relates to girdles made from liquid latex. 1 ,lHithertogirdles have been made from liquid latex and many advantages have beenobtained therefrom'such as great elasticity and universal stretch,reduced thickness, ability to wash and dry more or less instantly, thefreedom from staining, and the freedomfrom surface irregular'itleswhich'permit closelyfitted clothes to be wornlwithout disfigurement. Asa result, as of the present writing, girdles made from liquid latex arethe most popular of all known types. i'ZGirdl'es made from liquid latexcan be further improved I have determined, if the girdle can be providedwith a lining which will enable the latex surface to slide withgreaterfacility over the skin. Such a lining-will permit the evaporationof moisture if the body is perspiring, and the lined girdle wouldtherefore be more comfortable to Wear than a similar unlined product.

:1. The accomplishment of the foregoing objects are the primary purposeof my invention.

5 Further objects are the provision of such a lifting which will notirritate the skin, which will space. the skin from the latex surfacethroughout "@Prior methods of securing a'lining of fibers to latexarticles generally are oflittle value in formiiig such a lining on agirdle. If an interwoven fabii'c is to be employed it will be difficultto.- p ro i'de the universal stretch-or the degree of elasit'iicityobtained from a latex formed girdle. '=Ihe"diiferential stretchbetweenlining and girdle will deprive the latex girdle of someof its presentelastic values. If a cement or-adhesive is used the differential stretchbetween a girdle formed from liquid latex and the stretch possible witha cemented lining may cause the layer carryingb the-adhering fibers tocrack and peel and allow pg'irticles of the cement to remain on the bodyw en the girdle is removed. In addition when an elastic cement is usedas the adhesive, the solvent which is necessarily contained therein mayattack the latex girdle and cause it to swell unevenly, and also loosenon the dipping form. The principal objection toemploying adhesivecoatings to the surfaces of the formed girdle is ,the failure of theadhesive to secure theindividual fibers properly. .Inall my experimentswith found that in nearly every subsequent use of the gridle, some ofthe fibers themselves are loosened and remain on the skin when thegirdle is removed. I have discovered that this is particularly true ofgirdles made from liquid latex and subject to extensive stretching. overmoist skin.

Some prior art methods disclose the principle of applying the fiberparticles directly to thedipping form, and adding the latex to thecoated form. These methods are impractical particularly if it is desiredto preserve the latex supply free of particles so that displaced fiberparticles will not appear on the outside of the finished girdle anddisfigure it.

Further objects of my invention are to secure a lining of fibers to agirdle made from liquid latex without the use of adhesive coatings; tosecure such a lining by a method which does not bring the fibers intocontact with the liquid latex supply; which permits all the attachedfibers to be thoroughly embedded in the latex body of the girdle itself;which permits a denser coating of fibers to be obtained; and which issimple and less costly to apply than other known methods; I

In the manufacture f. girdles made from liquid latex with which I amhere concerned, the inside of the formed girdle will appear as theoutside of the finished girdle, as the finished girdle in my inventionwill be turned inside out.

This reversal in normal forming procedure requires a careful study ofthe surface configuration of the dipping form for all surfaceconfigurations must be reversed.

Further complications occur in the manufacture of girdles from liquidlatex for it will be noted that upper and lower edges are required to bereinforced, a fact which distinguishes girdles from most articles madefrom liquid latex; Whereas most articles made from liquid latex requirea single reinforcing edge which may be provided on the form by gravity,two separate and oppositely positioned reinforcing edges are required ina girdle, and they must, be accounted for in any changes hereinvolved. Ihave found that forming the girdle in an inverted position, as,well asan, inside-out position will enable me to accomplish the purposes of myinvention. l

A further object of my invention therefore comprises the manufacture ofa girdle made from liquid latex that can be reversably formed, and in aninversed position.

adhesives for. cementing the fibers, it has beenIaccomplishtheseand-other,objectsand-obtain new results as will beapparent from the device described in the following specification,particularly pointed out in the claims, and illustrated in theaccompanying drawing, in which Fig. 1 illustrates my inverted andreversed girdle form being dipped into a supply of liquid latex to formthe girdle shown partly in section;

Fig. 2 illustrates diagrammatically the form and girdle supported in achamber containing apparatus for blowing the fibers onto the outsidesurface of the freshly dipped formed girdle;

Fig. 3 is a diagrammatical illustration of the form and girdle in adrying chamber;

Fig. 4 is a similar view but in a hot water curing vessel;

Fig. 5 illustrates the reverse shaping to produce the final girdle,shown partly in section;

Fig. 6 is an enlarged fragmentary sectional elevation View of a form anda latex girdle forming a reinforcing bead; and

Fig. '7 is a similar view of an improvement thereof.

In my process I provide a form [0, supported on the rails l2 for makinga dipped latex girdle id in an inverted and inside-out position. Thusthe inside surface E6 of the dipped girdle becomes the outside surfaceof the final article by final reversing.

In the manufacture of a girdle made from liquid latex it will be notedthat upper and lower Y openings defined by edges [8 and 20,respectively, are required as distinguished from articles provided witha single opening. I am able by my invention to dip my article in anupside-down as well as inside-out position, to produce the special edgereinforcement as will be hereinafter described, which provides maximumprotection at the waist opening 2c of the girdle, and whichreinforcement may be formed at the bottom edge of the girdle as it issupported in an upside-down position. The depression on the mold 10 inwhich the girdle is formed is indicated by the into a tank 24 of liquidlatex compound 25 consisting of, as an example, 100 parts by weight ofrubber as latex containing 2 /2 parts of zinc oxide, 2 parts of sulfur,0.5 part of an organic accelerator, such as sodium dibutyldithiocarbamate, the completed mixture containing water.

For making the comminuted fiber lining 26, I may employ cotton filamentsof extremely short length of from /3 to 1 millimeters. These cottonfilaments are of small diameter and have reat surface area as comparedwith their mass.

While the absorbency factor is not of reat importance with viscousmaterials, such as are commonly employed for adhesives Where theadhering surface contact is all that is substantially obtained, I amprimarily concerned with embedding the ends of the cotton fibersdirectly into a liquid latex film containing a large proportion ofwater. The fibers, if made of cotton, upon contacting the surface of theliquid latex will instantly absorb large quantities of the moisturecausing the liquid latex to become viscous at the surface. Thesubsequently impinging fibers do not penetrate the viscous surface andare less securely embedded. I have found that for thoroughly embeddingall the cotton fibers that are possible it is therefore desirable tohave a dipped liquid latex film of maximum thickness on the form. Thusmore liquid is provided for maintaining the initial surface viscosity.This is an important factor in the use of absorbent fibers on liquidlatex surfaces containing large amounts of water.

If as an example I may employ for a girdle, a film of liquid latexhaving a variable thickness, I prefer to use the maximum thicknesspracticable knowing that the degree of fiber embedment and density ofsecured fibers will be in proportion to the increased thickness, withinthe limits of the absorbency factor of the fibers.

This is in contrast to adhesives and cements Where the viscosity of theadhering coating makes penetration of air borne filaments difiicult, forthen thickness is no factor since only a surface adhesion is obtainedregardless of depth.

After the form has been dipped in the liquid latex compound to thedesired thickness, the form is quickly moved into a closed chamber 28where the cotton fiber filament 26 are blown through spray nozzles 36 atabout 30 lbs/sq. in. pressure against the wet surface 32 of the liquidlatex covered form, or at a velocity sufficient to cause the particlesto become suitably embedded therein, but at insufiicient speed tocauseany wave motion in the liquid latex surface. When th maximum numberof fibers has been embedded into the wet latex, the form containing thedipped and fiber covered girdle is withdrawn, and placed in a dryingchamber 34 through which heated air is circulated until the excessmoisture has been removed from the latex. Drying at 150 F. for 30minutes is sufficient.

Thereafter the coated forms are placed in a curing or vulcanizing bath36 containing preferably water 38 at just below boiling temperature for30 minutes or until the latex has been satisfactorily cured. The waterwill simultaneously wash the lined article free of all loose and solublematter.

Thereafter such procedures as stripping and tumbling are employed, andany steps applied as are known in the art.

The girdle is finally turned inside-out, to the final shape 40, as shownin Fig. 5, or to the reversed position from that produced on the dippingform as shown in Fig. 1, resulting in a girdle made from liquidlatex'with a thoroughly secured and dense inner lining of fibers.

In the manufacture of a girdle employing this invention, itv should benoted that the beadings and edges employed for reinforcement of thegirdle to prevent tearing when applied to the body, will be reversed ifprovided on the form. Thus the outwardly protruding reinforcing bead 42of the type shown in Fig. 6 will be reversed in position in my processand will therefore project into the skin, when the article is reversed.The bead 42 of Fig. 6, as an example may be formed during the dippingprocess by holding the form 43 in the same position after removal fromthe supply of liquid latex, so that the force of gravity will permit aslight excess of the liquid latex 44 to accumulate at the edge 46 of theform. At this edge the form is set back slightly as at 48. The surfacetension of the accumulated liquid latex. will cause the head 42 to form,reinforcing the edge of the'thiin l atex girdle and thus preventtearing.

In carrying out my present invention "which reverse-shapes the girdlesuch a bead would be caused to project into the skin. To prevent suchoccurrence, I may obliquely cut back as at 50, the former edge 46, inthe new type form 52 which may be shaped as shown in Fig. 7. Thecut-back is for approximately the same distance as the bead formerlyprotruded, so that the effect is to form the new bead 54 below thecutback 50. The former edge 46 is now replaced by the edge 56. Thisconstruction will reverse the direction of protrusion in the latex 58,with respect to the ultimate inner surface, or the outside of the girdleas formed.

The girdle is then reverse-shaped, and the new type reinforcing beadwill extend away from the body and will not mark the skin.

An important manufacturing step in dipping simultaneously a plurality offorms is to cause the forms to be as close to each other as possibleduring dipping. This arrangement benefits production. However, the formsshould be separated as far as feasible when the lining of fibers isapplied in order to insure that the greatest number of fiber particlesare applied, and said fibers applied as nearly normal to the surface ofthe liquid latex film as conditions permit.

Instead of short cotton fibers, other vegetable or animal fibers may beused. In addition synthetic fibers such as rayon, may be employedadvantageously.

I have thus illustrated one method of producing a novel girdle with aninner lining of fibers which provides an air cushion between the latexformed girdle and the skin. On this air cushion the girdle can be easilyslipped on and off the body whether the skin is dry or moist. The easewith which the girdle may be applied makes possible a girdle of reducededge reinforcement and thickness. Some women like a girdle to beextremely tight to control fatty tissue making the movement of a tightgirdle over loose flesh a hitherto hazardous task for a thin unlinedlatex formed girdle especially when applied by a woman having longfinger nails. With my invention the diiliculties and hazards have beeneliminated.

The girdle when worn has unexpected advantages. The movement of the hipson the lining of fibers causes the air cushion to breathe and to expelthe moisture evaporating from the body and the heat from the skin. Agirdle lined with fibers thus becomes cooler to wear in summer, whilethe impermeable latex makes the girdle warm to the body in the winter.

The ease with which a latex girdle may be washed and dried is maintainedas a practical matter. The exposed ends of the fibers having maximumsurface exposure for their mass, easily dry out when the girdle liningis exposed by reversal.

The advantages of a girdle made from liquid latex have thus beenretained while adding the advantages of an absorbent air cushion. Eventhe straps or garter sections are provided with a lining of fibers sothat an unbroken area of contact of soft fiber with the skin ismaintained.

The garter fastening elements, not shown, are added to the straps in amanner known to the art.

By reversing the manufacturing procedure of forming the girdle, I amthus able to form the girdle with its inside surface on the outside, andsecure a lining of fibers directly to and in the body wall by embeddingportions of the fiber in the liquid latex surface of the girdle beforeit is dried on the form.

I have thus eliminated the shortcomings previously believed necessary,such as applying a separate adhesive or cement to the form and securingthe fibers to the adhesive before dipping into the liquid latex bath. Inmy process the liquid latex bath is free of fiber particles whichenables me to produce a final outside surface of smooth latex Withoutevidence of the fiber particles. In addition, I eliminate the added stepof applying adhesives which involves extra equipment and separateapplication and drying operations.

Finally by properly preparing the surface of the form, it is possible toproduce articles which when turned inside out are completely ready foruse and do not require added steps of applying reinforcement edges orlayers and which possess the necessary external surface configurationsrequired of the finished article. A considerable saving in manufacturingcost is thus effected.

I have thus described my invention, but I desire it to be understoodthat it is not confined to the particular forms or uses shown anddescribed, the same being merely illustrative, and that the inventionmay be carried out in other ways without departing from the spirit of myinvention, and, therefore, I claim broadly the right to employ allequivalent instrumentalities coming within the scope of the appendedclaims, and by means of which, objects of my invention are attained and.new results accomplished, as it is obvious that the particularembodiments herein shown and described are only some of the many thatcan be employed to attain these objects and accomplish these results.

I claim:

1. A formed elastic girdle made from liquid latex comprising an endlessshaped band of vulcanized deposited latex for encircling the body,forming an upper waist opening and a leg opening, said girdle having onthe inner surface thereof a lining of individual short fibersindividually movable apart from each other with the band 01' vulcanizedlatex when it is stretched the remaining thickness of the depositedlatex band being free of the fibers, the outside surface of the girdlehaving the surface replica of the form, on which it was made.

2. The latex girdle of claim 1, having an outwardly extendingreinforcement formed on the outer replica surface and positioned on theupper edge of the band at the waist opening for reinforcing said edge.

HARRY JACOB EARTH.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS Number

